NFL star Wallace lands himself in trouble after homophobic remarks about Collins

The Miami Dolphins have condemned one
of their leading players for making homophobic remarks after NBA star
Jason Collins became the first player in a major American team sport to
come out as gay.

The
34-year-old, who played most recently for the Washington Wizards in an
NBA career spanning 12 seasons and six teams, came out in an article
with Sports Illustrated magazine.

He wrote: 'I'm a 34-year-old NBA centre. I'm black. And I'm gay.

'I
didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major
American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the
conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand
and saying, "I'm different."

Coming out: Jason Collins was the first athlete in US mainstream sport to announce he is gay

Collins received widespread support on
Twitter following the article, but 26-year-old wide receiver Wallace's
attitude was rather different.

He Tweeted: 'All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH (shaking my head) ...'

He later deleted the Tweet and posted:
'Never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don't
understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended.'

His team issued a statement saying Wallace had apologised and they had spoken to him about the matter.

The statement on the team's official
Twitter feed said: 'Mike Wallace has apologised for his comments, and we
have addressed the matter with him.

'Mike's comments do not reflect the
views of the Miami Dolphins. We believe in a culture of inclusiveness
and respect, and any statements to the contrary are in no way acceptable
to our organisation.

'We will address the entire team about
our policy of inclusion and make sure they all understand the
importance of respecting individual choices.'

Revealing he was gay, Collins said he was pleased he could finally 'do the right thing' and 'stop hiding'.

Life at the top: Collins has played for Boston Celtics and most recently starred for Washington Wizards

He wrote: 'No one wants to live in
fear. I've always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don't sleep
well. I never have. But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger
and sleep a little more soundly.

'It takes an enormous amount of energy
to guard such a big secret. I've endured years of misery and gone to
enormous lengths to live a lie. I was certain that my world would fall
apart if anyone knew.

'And yet when I acknowledged my
sexuality I felt whole for the first time. I still had the same sense of
humour, I still had the same mannerisms and my friends still had my
back'

He added: 'Pro basketball is a family.
And pretty much every family I know has a brother, sister or cousin
who's gay. In the brotherhood of the NBA, I just happen to be the one
who's out.'

Collins, who is now a free agent, has reached the NBA finals twice and said he intended to continue his career.